- Jun 2, 2014
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My daughter has been playing softball ever since she could throw and swing a bat and has been on select teams for the last 4 years.
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Incompetent Coaching
- Thread starter Dan Freschi
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- Jun 24, 2013
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I voted for find a new Team but that would be for after the season is over.
It doesn’t sound like the current coach staff is hurting your DD, just not providing all the help you think that they should. Keep working with her outside practice and use the time to find another organization. If possible have her guest play for them this year before she commits to next year and/ or go watch some of their games and practices.
It doesn’t sound like the current coach staff is hurting your DD, just not providing all the help you think that they should. Keep working with her outside practice and use the time to find another organization. If possible have her guest play for them this year before she commits to next year and/ or go watch some of their games and practices.
- Jun 7, 2013
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I think that good advice has been already provided in this thread. However, I wanted to add an experience that I had with an "incompetent coach". My DD had a coach who I respected because he stepped up in the local organization and offered to coach a team. Without that offer there may have been no team. His first year he was the nice guy who really didn't know the ins and outs of fastpitch softball. However, by the time the next year rolled around he was at least twice as good. I wouldn't call him a top notch coach but he made major strides, enough to fit in the competent category.
- Apr 25, 2010
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How is it that this is her 2nd year with him and you just now think he is incompetent? You say all the other parents are talking behind his back. Apparently you are included in these talks. Please. Do NOT start a new team or try to take over this team. Sit back, stay out of the gossip circle, keep your mouth shut, and look for a new team at the end of your season. Otherwise, you are one of THOSE parents who thinks they know so much but in reality, you know just enough to be dangerous.
Have you offered to assist the coach with your expertise? I'm sure he would like the help, and you could spend some quality time with your daughter and her friends. Is this your first 12U girl? Things change with girls at that age too. Its not the easiest age to coach at the rec/select level. Many have other interests. She should go to higher level travel team so the coach and team don't have to suffer derisive comments from disgruntled parents.
That's my opinion.
That's my opinion.
How are you defining select teams? This doesn't sound like a select team to me. If you mean they chose certain players (rather than being in a league where they take everyone) I get it, but that's still not a select team per se.
Observe some local teams now and see which ones have the coaching (and the atmosphere) you want for your daughter, and try out there in August. That's your best bet in my opinion.
Observe some local teams now and see which ones have the coaching (and the atmosphere) you want for your daughter, and try out there in August. That's your best bet in my opinion.
- May 17, 2012
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No need to pay for quality coaching. Travel ball is expensive enough.
No, you really don't. It may help, but there are very good coaches who never played one inning of fast pitch.
- Apr 25, 2010
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I could not disagree more. There are many excellent coaches who were not players themselves. The top 14u team in our state is coached by a dad who didn't play fastpitch. Some of the best coaches in any sport have never played. They are simply lifelong students of the game. I am sure most if not all of us know former players who are godawful coaches.
- Jun 24, 2013
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OR you need to buy the products to help you develop as a coach. Instructional DVD's to help you teach the right things the right way.
We stepped up due to incompetent coaching and became pretty good coaches. We always started with the fundamentals and we always had one or two girls who swore their side-arm style of throwing was soooo much more efficient...... Yes efficient at causing errors. The players that bought into the system improved rapidly. We also were constantly on the lookout for new ways to teach them, youtube, this forum, etc. Being willing to improve as coaches helped tremendously.
If you just expect this coach to get better by gaining experience coaching games, you will be sorely disappointed in the length of time it takes to get results you desire. Yes you can learn by coaching games, but it takes a very long time. I read rule books (so I knew when to argue a call and when not to. Also to not look like a fool for arguing from the wrong side of the rules) I also read strategies from other coaches. Basically my coaching staff and I wanted to teach the right things to help THE GIRLS. It was interesting to see the parents reaction when the parents would come up to me after the game and ask why I didn't challenge a certain call and I would respond "According to the rule book, the blue was right. On page XX it says that........". They then knew that I understood more than I let on and they stopped hollering at the blues.
It sounds like you have an incompetent AND insecure coach, which is a dangerous combination for the development of girls. I would get away from him. I have seen a coach able to mask his incompetence by having 2 girls (which were his DD's) that could pitch better than most of the rec teams. He went undefeated one year so people assumed he knew how to coach. When he went to tournaments against A and B teams, his incompetence began to be shown and he got beat badly. SO he started only going to C level tourneys so he could "keep" his reputation as a good coach. Whenever his teams lost it was the girls didn't want it badly enough, never that he failed to use other pitchers that were better than his DD's, that he made numerous base running errors, that he required ALL batters to not swing until they had 1 strike on them (even at 14U), etc, etc.
Find a coach willing to put in the hard work of being a coach, not just the fact that they played "a little ball" back in the day.
